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Matt McCord shoots the ball with Tipp's Andy Vanover in his face. McCord scored a game high 15 points, but the Buccs fell by the score of 50-48.
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Team
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CCC
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ALL
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Ansonia
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11-0
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18-2
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Covington
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10-1
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12-8
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National Trail
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9-2
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17-3
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Bethel
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4-4
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8-6
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Twin Valley South
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5-4
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9-6
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Newton
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4-4
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6-9
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Tri-Village
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4-4
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7-8
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Arcanum
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4-4
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6-9
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Tri-County North
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1-8
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2-13
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Franklin Monroe
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1-7
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5-10
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Mississinawa Valley
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2-5
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2-10
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Bradford
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0-11
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1-19
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January 10, 2004 – COVINGTON
It's a good thing Covington and Tipp City have six days of rest before they have to suit up again. They will need it to heal from the pounding they gave each other in tonight's give-and-take basketball game at Tippeconoe High School.
The game wasn't pretty, but it had enough excitement and suspense to thrill the fans and make a coach lose his hair, all in the span of two hours. It was two evenly matched teams taking the best the other has to offer and then coming back for more. It's what High School Basketball is all about.
In the end, Tipp City came out on top 50-48 thanks to a 10-foot jumper from the foul line by Adam Smith with 7 seconds left. Covington had one last chance to at least tie the score, but Tipp City's Andy Vanover slapped the ball out of Brady Reck's hands as time expired.
"That's the way we like it,' said Tipp coach Matt Pond in regards to the physical play. "Everyone played well tonight, not just our kids , but the Covington kids as well. This is a nice win."
Covington took an early advantage on the scoreboard as Matt McCord, Dusty Rhoades, Darin Rhoades, Ross Mohler and Gene Studebaker all put points on the board in the first period. McCord's 6 points in the stanza led the way to a 16-11 Covington advantage at the end of the period.
Tipp City cut the Buccaneer' lead to 16-15 to start the second as T.J. Bernander and Adam Smith canned short jumpers. Covington then scored the next four points on free throws to increase their lead to 23-15 at the midway point of the period.
After buckets by Tipps' Andy Vanover and Eric Monroe, Covington's Gene Studebaker scored on a layup to make the score 25-19 with under 1:00 to go in the half.
Vanover cut the margin to 4 points on the tip in off of a Monroe miss, but Darin Rhoades gave Covington the largest lead of the game, 28-21, with a 3-pointer right before the half.
"Of all the guys we had to leave open, it had to be him," said Pond. "He's probably their best outside shooter and he made us pay."
Eric Monroe took over the game early in the third period and almost single handidly got the Red Devils back into the game. Monroe scored 7 of Tipp City's next 11 points to cut Covington's lead to 33-32 with under 3:00 to go in the third.
Covington responded with a 5-2 run to close out the third on buckets by McCord and Reck and then a McCord free throw.
After Tipps' Jordan Sharpe closed the gap to 38-37 on a three-point play, Dustin Kimmel scored 2 straight baskets to give Covington 5-point lead with 6:00 to go in the contest.
Eric Monroe pounded his way inside for a basket of his own and Sharpe tied the score at 42-42 with a 3-pointer with 5:13 left of the clock.
McCord gave the lead right back to Covington with a layup and then a Reck free throw pushed the Covington lead to 45-42. Tipp City scored the next 4 points as the lead changed for the final time in Tipps' favor, 46-45 with 3:35 left.
After two free throws by Sharpe pushed the Tipp' lead to 48-45, McCord tied the score at 48-48 by converting on 3 out of 4 free throws with 15 seconds left in the game.
The final points of the night came with 7 seconds left as Adam Smith drilled a jumper to give Tipp the 50-48 win.
"We didn't make plays when we needed them down the stretch," said Covington coach Roger Craft. "They killed us on the offensive boards and we didn't take care of the ball. If you don't rebound and you turn the ball over, you're going to lose."
Tipp City held a 31-21 edge in overall rebounds and a 13-4 edge on the offensive end. Covington committed 23 turnovers, while Tipp committed 18.
"This is an emotional win for us especially considering my history at Covington," concluded Pond. "The Covington kids really came in her and played well. It's tough because of the crowd and such, but their kids played hard."
Matt McCord led all scorers with 15 points, while Darin Rhoades chipped in 10 points as well. Tipp City had three players in double figures, led by Jordan Sharpe with 13.
Covington drops to 7-4 on the season, while Tipp improves to 4-6. The Buccs have a tough weekend ahead of them as they travel to National Trail next Friday and then host Versailles on Saturday.
"We have to come prepared to play because it's only going to get tougher," concluded coach Craft. "Both of those teams are very good, so we have some things to work on."
Covington Scoring:
Matt McCord – 15
Darin Rhoades – 10
Brady Reck – 8
Dustin Kimmel – 4
Gene Studebaker – 4
Dallas Burelison – 3
Dusty Rhoades – 2
Ross Mohler – 2
Tipp City Scoring:
Jordan Sharpe – 13
Eric Monroe – 12
Andy Vanover – 10
Adam Smith – 8
John Goldsberry – 5
T.J. Bernander – 2
Scoring by quarters:
Covington..........16....28......38.....48
Tipp City............11....21......34.....50
Records:
Covington – 7-4, Tipp City – 4-6
